A Troublesome Romance
by emy1511
Summary: What happens when a troublesome sand kunoichi meets the laziest ninja in the village of Konoha? Love of course. warning: strong sexual themes in later chapters
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. That said, enjoy and please give me feed back!

**Chapter 1**

Shikamaru closed his eyes and lazily smiled as he stretched. His muscles always felt stiff after lying on the ground for so long. He yawned and opened his eyes, gazing up at the sky above him as he watched a cloud drift by in the endless stretch of blue. It was a particularly good day in Konoha, sun was shining and there was a cool breeze in the air, but most importantly nothing troublesome had happened all day. Shikamaru sighed as he felt the cool grass under him in the shade of the tree the boy was resting under. Sun light was streaming through the branches and leaves, throwing light upon him slightly. He closed his eyes in an attempt to dose off when he was disturbed by the crunch of a leaf to his left. Annoyed, he opened his eyes to see what had broken his peacefulness. As he turned his head to the left a shadow passed by him. Shikamaru slowly sat up, squinting into the sunlight to see what or who was moving about. A figure caught his eye, it was a person. The person was standing a little ways away up the hill a bit from him. He watched as the figure sat down on the grassy hill. As his eyes adjusted he saw blond hair catch the sunlight. The figure was wearing what appeared to a white dress with a red sash tied around the waist. '_A girl?' _ He thought. He frowned as he tried to tell who it was. '_No one ever comes out here' _the dark haired boy thought to himself as he continued watching the girl. This was his favorite spot away from the village, it was close by enough so that he could easily sneak away from his troublesome team mates.

When he had noticed the girls blonde hair he had silently prayed it wasn't his laud mouthed team mate Ino. As he looked closer he saw this girls hair was a dirty blonde, and it was up in an unusual style. He felt a breeze start to pickup as a large gust of wind rush over the grass. He heard a light hearted laugh and looked at the girl curiously, she had her hands up and was swirling the air around her. '_Impressive' _he thought as he watched the girl control the air expertly. '_Wind type chakura huh?' _ He watched her for a little while, he didn't know why but he enjoyed her wind show. He smiled as she released the chakura and lay down on the soft grass. His curiosity was getting the best of him. He felt an intense urge to do over to her.

He got up and walked out of the shade of the tree, stepping into the bright sunlight. He could feel the heat hit his skin as he quietly walked up the hill to the now lying girl. As he got close he saw her body tense and before he knew it his head hit the ground with a thud. He winced at the pain and looked up. Standing over him with her kunai drawn was a beautiful kunoichi. She had blue-green eyes and soft pink lips that where now turned down into a frown as she stared at him.

"Who are you" she said curtly, "what do you want?"

Shikamaru though quit in nature, was rarely ever at a loss for words when he needed them. But now he just stared at this angry beautiful girl standing over him in wonder.

"uh…" he started when he finally found his voice, "well… I was just lying over there and I saw you… so…"

He looked away, a slight blush crept on his face. He broke eye contact with her out of embarrassment.

_'Dammit get a hold of yourself, it's just a troublesome girl after all. Stop acting stupid!'_ He yelled at himself mentally as he looked back at the girl who had relaxed a bit, sensing he wasn't a threat. She stepped away from him and put her kunai back in her pouch. He watched her carefully as he got up and brushed the grass of his pants. Now that he had a closer look he noticed her forehead protector around her neck had the hidden village of Sand's symbol on it. '_A foreign shinobi? This is getting interesting.' _She turned to face him again. He smirked as she gave him a questioning look.

"So what are you doing out here?" she crossed her arms as she asked him, giving him an annoyed look. He shrugged it off.

"Just cloud watching" he replied giving her a slight smile. He almost laughed out loud the look she gave him when he said that.

"Who the fuck cloud watches? She teased him. He smirked again, earning another look.

"Well we can't all play with the wind…" he teased in return, his smirk growing. His pulse spend up when she smiled in return at him. She turned and sat back on the ground, motioning for him to join her. Shikamaru smiled and sat next to the blonde kunoichi. He looked over at her when she giggled and lay down on the soft grass, staring up at the wide blue sky.

"So" she started and glanced over at him. "Tell me what's so interesting about cloud watching?"

Shikamaru smiled and lay down next to the sand nin, folding his arms behind his head. He watched the sky for a moment the turned his head to look at her.

"Well… nothing really, I actually just lay here and think usually." He said as he caught the kunoichi eyes with his own interested stare. She smiled at him and looked back to the clouds.  
"Usually I would tease you and 'say that sounds boring'… but I'll admit, it sounds peaceful." She replied after a moment of cloud watching. "Just don't tell anyone I'm being nice though, ok?" she looked back at him with a grin on her face as she said it. Shikamaru just laughed in return.

"Deal" he said. They sat there for a while making little conversation, they just enjoyed each other's presence.  
Shikamaru turned to look at the girl when he heard her get up next to him. He sat up giving her a questioning look as she dusted the grass off her dress. She sighed and gave him a small smile.

"Well, I have to get back to my team now…" she said as she picked up what appeared to be a large fan off the ground. Shikamaru got up too.

"I'll walk you back to the village." He offered giving the girl a smile. She smiled wide in return and he noticed a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Thanks." She replied still smiling at the boy.

Shikamaru walked a lazy pace with his hands in his pockets as they made their way back to the village.

He looked over at the kunoichi beside him and said, "by the way… what is a sand nin doing in Konoha anyways?"  
She gave him a look that read 'are you stupid' and laughed at the confused look on his face.

"Don't you know what's going on in your own village?" she asked him still laughing. When he didn't reply she continued, "My team and I are here for the Chunin exams, duh."  
"Oh that troublesome thing" Shikamaru sighed in reply. "My sensei wants by team to take it too."  
She gave him a fierce smile. "Well I guess were rivals then… maybe I shouldn't be talking to the enemy" she teased, earning a frown from the dark haired ninja.  
He tisked which made her laugh again. "hn is that how you thank a guy who walked you back?" he countered playfully. She smiled and blushed slightly.  
"No one asked you to walk me." He gave her a look and she laughed again.  
"Troublesome women, it's what men do" he stated firmly. He winced at the playfull punch she gave him in return.

"Women don't need men to take care of them idiot. Especially shinobi women." She gave him another playful smile when he muttered troublesome and rubbed the spot where she hit him.

They had stopped next the Hokage tower and were smiling at each other. Shikamaru stared at the girl and blushed, noticing how the sun played off her skin making her glow beautifully. She noticed his blush and felt her face redden too. "Hey…" he started looking at her with hopeful eyes, willing his face to be the same nonchalant mask he always wore. "Do you want to maybe…" his voice was cut off by a sudden voice that rang out next to them.

"Temari." The voice said aggressively.

The blonds smile fell and Shikamaru saw her eyes widen in shock. She cursed under her breath and spun around. Leaning up against the wall of the Hokage tower was a small red haired boy with a gourd on his back. Next to him was a taller boy in a black jacket with red face paint on. The taller boy scowled at Shikamaru. Shikamaru observed them and saw that they too had the Hidden village of Sand's symbol on their forehead protectors. He looked back at the blonde girl with a questioning look, but she wouldn't meet his eyes.

"I have to go" she whispered to him. He noticed that her face had changed and held no emotion in it anymore. She walked quickly toward the boys, turning her back on Shikamaru. They didn't great her as she approached. The red head started to walk off the two sand nin followed. Shikamaru watched them leave_. 'What the hell just happened'_ he thought to himself as he turned and walked to his house.

He replayed the scene over and over in this head that night as he lay in bed. He turned at looked at the moon outside of is window and sighed_. 'What a troublesome day'_ but even as he said it a smile spread across his lips as the thought of the blonde kunoichi. "Temari" he whispered into the dark night air as he closed his eyes and fell asleep, with thoughts of her still in his head.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. That said, enjoy and please give me feed back!

**Chapter 2**

Temari sat in her room witting in a chair that faced the window. She smiled as she watched a cloud go by and thought of the boy she met yesterday. She turned as she heard a knock on her door. "Come it." She said half heartily as her brother entered the room.

"Hey sis" the boy said walking over to her. She frowned at him, still pissed off from yesterday.

"What is it Kankuro." She asked impatiently turning back to the window. She heard her brother sigh behind her as he sat down on the edge of her bed.

"Aw come-on ni-chan, you can't still be pissed we interrupted your date." The boy said mockingly to the older blonde shinobi. Temari fingers curled up in a fist as anger flooded through her. She turned around and gave a death stare at the now grinning boy.

"One more word Kankuro and I swear…" she snarled at the face painted boy who just laughed in return.

"Hey now no need to get angry sis!" the boy said as he put his hands up in a mock defense to his angry sister. He got up and walked towards the door. He turned back to her before he opened it. "It's not like you could actually like a damn Leaf shinobi anyways."

Temari continued to glare at her brother as he left the room. She sighed angrily as the door closed and the footsteps grew faint down the hall. '_That damn Kankuro!'_ she thought angrily_. 'Why do my brothers have to chase off every guy I try to talk to?!' _Temari stood up and passed around the room. "I need to blow off steam" she said to herself as she grabbed her fan and made her way to the door. When she walked into the living room she saw Kankuro and her Jounin team leader sitting on the sofa. Her other brother was standing next to the window leaning against the wall. He gave her his normal glare as she entered the room. The other two sand nin looked at her. She glared at all of them as she walked toward the front door. "I'm going out to train." She said angrily at the men in the room. The Jounin nodded in response. She looked quickly at her other brother across the room. "Gaara…" she said gently. The red head continued to stare at her not replying. "I'll be right back ok? Don't do anything while I'm gone…" she smiled sadly as her brothers eyes hardened at her. She knew he hated to be told what to do but she was worried. Her hands involuntarily shook in fear as Gaara continued his stare at her. The room fell into a tense silence as she left the apartment they were put in for the exam.

She sighed in relief when she was out of sight of the building. She quickly shook the fear of Gaara off and continued to walk down the dirt road. She cursed silently when she realized she didn't bring her map of Konoha with her. '_Great'_ she thought '_I have no idea where to go._' She sighed and decided to explore the town hoping to run across a training site. She wondered for a while looking at the shops in the village and watching the local people rush by. She stopped in her tracks when she heard a familiar voice a few feet away. She smiled as she saw a young dark haired shinobi talking with an older ninja. The older ninja laughed at something the boy said and ruffled his hair affectunetly as he puffed on a cigarette. The boy smirked in return at the man. Temari smiled watching the two, '_that must be his sensei' _she thought to herself. '_Well no use just standing here'_ she thought and smiled as she began to walk over to the young shinobi.

X

Shikamaru's breath caught as he heard a voice say 'hey' behind him. He turned around and realized the voice belonged to the sand kunoichi from the day before. He smiled as she approached him. He was standing next to the barbecue shop his team always went to after training or a mission. His other teammates left and he was chatting with his sensei Asuma. He someone clear their throat behind him and he realized he had been staring at the blonde sand nin while thinking. He blushed and turned to Asuma, who was smirking knowingly at his student. "uh Asuma this is Temari" Shikamaru gestured to Temari and gave her a small smile. The Jounin smiled at the girl as he greeted her and she the same.

"Well I have to go Shikamaru" Asuma said giving him another glance that implied more than Shikamaru was comfortable with. '_Note to self, yell at Asuma later about that'_ the genius thought as his teacher turned and walked away, waving at them from behind. He tsked at his teacher and turned back to Temari.

"You following me around?" he ask Temari jokingly, earning a blush from the sand kunoichi.

"As if baka!" she replied in mock anger and laughed. "Actually I got lost…"

Shikamaru laughed then asked "want me to help you find your way back to your apartment?" he saw Temari frown and panic flashed in her eyes.

"NO!... er I mean.. If you're not busy why don't we hangout around the village?" Temari asked smiling nervously. Shikamaru gave her questioning look which she ignored, he shrugged.

"Alright I've got time." He said smiling at her. She returned the smile as they began to walk down the street.

"Where are we going Shika?" Temari asked him. Shikamaru blushed slightly at the nickname.

"Another one of my cloud watching spots"

Temari laughed "you have more than one?" He smiled at her teasing as they continued to walk. The made small talk and chatted about the village. Temari stopped suddenly and walked over to a shop. 'Uh oh' thought Shikamaru as he realized it was Ino's families flower shop. He sighed as Temari motioned him to follow her inside the shop. When they entered Shikamaru saw Ino sitting at the register. She was giving him the worst possible smile.

"Shikamru-kun!" Ino called to him waving as they entered the store. Her eyes were locked on Temari and her smile grew even more wicked. "On a date I see, huh?" she teased and laughed at the blush both of them gave. He looked at Temari apologetically and walked over to Ino.

"Can it Ino!" he quietly hissed at her as Temari looked around the store. Ino laughed in return.

"Oh come now Shikamaru! It's not every day I see you with a girl!" she said a bit too loud of his liking. He sighed as he turned to go over to Temari but Ino stopped him.

"Wait! Hold on a sec" she said quickly to him and went to a vase behind the counter. She pulled out a sunflower and cut its stem. She handed it back to Shikamaru with a wink. "For the girl" she said smiling nicely this time. Shikamaru blushed a deep red.

"Thanks" he muttered and walked over to Temari. She was looking excitedly at all the plants when he approached. She smiled at him as he stood beside her.

"I love all these flowers… nothing grows like this in the desert." She laughed lightly. He smiled at her.

"Well I guess you should have one then." He handed her the sunflower blushing slightly as she took it from him happily. She smiled wide as she smelled the flower, a light blush had found its way to her cheeks. They left the store hearing a good bye from Ino as they walked into the street. The continued down the busy street to the other side of the village. There was a building by the ninja academy that Shikamaru always went to sit on the bench in its roof and cloud watch. When they got to the roof Shikamaru was surprised to see a familiar shape sitting on the bench. He heard the rustle of a chip bag and smiled.

"Yo Choji!" Shikamaru called out in greeting as he and Temari approached a round boy with his hands in a near empty chip bag. They boy looked over and smiled.

"Shikamaru! I thought you went with Asuma sensei to play Shougi?" the boy then noticed the blonde kunoichi standing next to the lazy brunette and smiled. Shikamaru noticed his friends questioning look.

"Choji, this is Temari…" he said motioning to Temari who smiled at the boy in greeting. "And Temari this is my best friend Choji." He smiled at his friend, who returned it. 'A_t least Choji won't make fun of me today'_ Shikamaru thought happily. "Mind if we join you?"

The pair sat down on the bench when the boy replied no. They all chatted for a while sitting on the roof under the warm spring sun. Temari smiled when Choji asked her what the Hidden Village of Sand was like.

"hm… well hot of course" she started smiling at the two boys to her right. She was leaning comfortably on Shikamaru's shoulder, not minding the closeness. "As it sounds we're in the middle of the desert, completely surrounded by sand. It's always hot during the day but it gets so cold at night." She looked at Shikamaru and smiled. "Rarely any clouds in my village to watch though." He laughed in return at her teasing tone. The chatting continued until Choji had to leave. He waved as he walked down the stares from the roof at the pair on the bench. Who both called out goodbyes in return.

Shikamaru and Temari continued to talk but soon fell into a comfortable silence. It was then when they both felt the closeness of the other fully and realized they were alone together. It had gotten later in the day and was nearing sunset.

"Bored already?" Shikamaru teased at her when he heard her sigh. She smiled in return.

"No actually just the opposite." She said as she turned to look at him.

He was suddenly aware of how close their faces were to each other as they smiled at the other. He blushed slightly as he glanced at her lips, as strong need to kiss them came over him. The look was not lost on Temari. She saw it and smiled as she leaned closer to him, earning a nerves glace from the boy. He did not back away though, instead he leaned closer too until their lips met. It was a short chaste kiss that both blushed at. Shikamaru smiled as he leaned back into her and found her lips again for anther kiss, this one though deeper and longer then the last. He felt her hands reach up and wrap around his neck as he too wrapped an arm around her waist pulling her closer. She smiled into the kiss as she felt the boy grow more confident. The kiss was broke when both needed air. It had gotten dark outside and the air was getting cold. Temari sighed a content sigh and got up off the bench, stepping out of Shikamaru's arms. He gave her a disappointed look, which she smiled at.

"I have to get back…" she said looking as disappointed as he felt. He got up and took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together.

"I'll walk you back."

The street now had only a few people who were either heading to the bar or back to their own houses. The two walked in comfortable silence across the village until they passed to Hokage tower. Temari suddenly stopped.

"Uh.. I can walk myself from here. I know where I am now." She said giving him a small smile. He looked at her questioningly but decided not to question it. He shrugged and released her hand unwillingly. She hesitated before she began to walk away but stopped and turned back to face him. "Hey, thanks for today… it was fun." She gave him another smile as she walked down the barley lit street to the apartments of the visitors. He called out a goodbye and headed in the direction of his own home.


	3. Chapter 3

**updated chapter**! sorry i noticed a lot of errors that i didn't catch before uploading! oops! i'll try to be more careful next chapter.  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. That said, enjoy and please give me feed back!

**Chapter 3**

Shikamaru sat outside leaning against the wall of his house. He lazily watched clouds drift by in the bright afternoon sky. When he stares at the clouds he always lets his mind wondered, for the past few days there had been one thing on his mind. Temari. He sighed heavily as his thoughts returned to her again. He had stopped fighting it now and just let his thoughts go. At first it had confused and aggravated him that she was always on his mind but now he just accepted it.

'_Well it can't be helped.' _He thought to himself. Especially because of one thing that had been really bothering him. The first day he had met the sand kunoichi something strange had happened. He was about to ask her out when her teammates called her over. He scowled remembering her reaction to seeing them. '_Why had she been so afraid?_' Shikamaru had asked this question over and over to himself for the last few days and still couldn't come up with an answer.

'_Maybe I should just ask her…'_ shaking his head he dismissed the thought. He had only just met her, he shouldn't be prying into her life. He frowned again at a new thought, which he had been trying to ignore all day crept into his head again. '_The next time I'll see her will be the exam…then we'll be enemies.'_ He clenched his fists angrily. He knew he shouldn't get upset at the thought but he was. He couldn't help it. "Just a few hours till the exam…" he whispered to himself clenching his fists tighter.

* * *

"Understand?" said a voice loudly that shoot Temari out of her thoughts.

She nodded curtly at the jounin that stood in front of her and her brothers. She saw him glare at her knowing she had missed the last part. He sighed, "Just remember your mission here. When we get the signal at the end of the exam the attack on Konoha will begin. You three have to be ready, especially you Gaara…"

Gaara nodded slightly and walked out of the room, not caring if the conversation was finished or not. Temari frowned as she watched him walk away, she loved her brother but her fear was sometimes stronger. Their jounin sighed and looked back at her and Kankuro. "Watch him closely. Got it." They nodded in response and he left the room. Temari sighed unhappily and laid her head back on the couch she and he brother were resting on. She closed her eyes angrily. _'Attack Konoha… shit… I knew I shouldn't have gotten close with that boy…'_ she frowned at the thought. _'No I'm a shinobi. This is my mission. The sand will prosper if I can do this. I have to.'_ She repeated that over and over in her head willing it to stick. She felt an arm around her and looked over at her brother who was frowning at her.

"What's the matter sis?" he asked her with worry in his voice. She sighed and forced a small smile.

"Oh just worried about Gaara is all" she lied. He nodded knowingly.

"I feel the same sometimes too. He is our brother after all… regardless of…it…"

She frowned at the last part, knowing all too well what it was. She was always worried for her little brother. His beast was barely controllable, no one knew when Gaara could snap and let it out. '_Who will actually get hurt in this mission… them or us_?' she thought bitterly.

She sighed heavily trying to shake the thought of her siblings getting hurt. A new thought had crept in, '_today's the day…'_ she looked back at Kankuro who gave her a reassuring smile, sensing that she was still worried.

"Come on sis, let's get Gaara and head to the academy." They got up off the couch and went down the hall to their brother.

* * *

She had been watching Shikamaru since he entered the room with his teammates. She listened closely when she saw him talking with an older Genin who had grey hair and glasses. "Is the Chuunin exam that difficult? This is getting troublesome" the lazy nin said to the boy. She smiled at hearing his response to how many times the boy had taken the exam. '_Ha with Gaara here we're guaranteed to pass this test the first time… actually we have to for the mission.' _She frowned at the last part of the thought.

Temari watched the small Konoha group of rookies gathered around the front of the room as they all listened intently to the older shinobi. "hn what idiots" Kankuro said as he watched the group with her. Gaara stood silently next to the two observing the rookies as well. Temari noticed his eyes were locked on the Uchiha boy. They had run into Konoha's team seven on their way to the exam. Gaara seemed eager to face the pale shinobi in battle. '_For the sake of that boy I hope he doesn't run into us'_ she felt guilty thinking it. Ever since she came to Konoha she had been thinking more of the enemy's safety then her teams. She knew that her siblings were strong and had no real reason to fear for them. '_But still… my allegiance is to the Sand… I can't think these traitorous thoughts." _She winced at the guilt that settled in her gut. She knew she'd have to attack and even kill these kids in necessary. She sighed as she got lost in thought in the internal struggle she was having.

Her eyes snapped open, breaking her out of her thoughts and back to reality. She had completely blocked out the noise when she was thinking and was startled to hear someone yelling. She looked at the front of the room to the Konoha group and saw that the small blonde boy they had encountered earlier from team seven was standing there in front of everyone smiling at the room. He yelled about how he wasn't going to lose to anyone and that he wasn't afraid. Kankuro laughed in response earning a glare from the obnoxiously loud boy. Temari smirked in response as well, "this boy has no idea what he is up against eh Kankuro?" her brother smiled at her wickedly and nodded. They both shot a glance to Gaara who hadn't changed his expression at all, which isn't uncommon for the red head. Temari knew he wouldn't care about a weakling like him.

She shifted her focus to the boy behind the blonde, who was looking as bored as ever. She smiled when she noticed his eyes were locked on her, though she silently prayed her brothers didn't notice. _'I don't need Kankuro finding an excuse to go after him during the attack…'_ She looked at her brother and saw his focus was still on the blonde nuisance who was grinning wildly at his embarrassed friends. She giggled when she saw the pink haired kunoichi hit him in response to his outburst. Her attention went back to the lazy shinobi, she caught his eyes in hers and they held each other's stares. He raised an eyebrow at her giving her an unspoken question of whether it was safe to talk. She knew he was smart and would have figured out by now to not approach her team. She shook her head at him slightly in reply. She smiled at the frown her gave her in return.

Her breath caught when she saw the sound ninja in front of her swiftly disappear through the crowded room and appear before the young Konoha group. Kankuro scowled fiercely and grabbed the bundle on his back itching to join a fight. Her head snapped to Gaara when she saw him hold up a hand to stop their brother from joining the trouble. Kankuro frowned but relaxed his position. She sighed thankful that her brother didn't join in too. She watched them pounce on the gray haired Guinn, the boy dodged the attack but when he stopped his glasses shattered and he threw up. She watched both disgusted and intrigued by the event.

"How stupid of them to be fighting now, the exam hasn't even begun yet." She said looking at Kankuro with a smirk. He brother smirked in reply to her as they continued to watch. The fight was interrupted when the examiner appeared in the room with a group of Chuunin shinobi on either side of him. The examiner was a large man with a scowl on his face and a few scars to go with the tough attitude. He mockingly threatened the sound ninjas for stirring up trouble and smirked at the room. He announced the start of the test and threatened to fail anyone who started fighting again. All the teams went up and registered and then took the seat they were assigned. Temari looked around the room, finding where Kankuro and Gaara were seated. Her eyes also found Shikamaru place. She smiled when she saw him glance her way, his signature smirk on his face. The examiner explained the rules, she noticed a few people mutter angrily at the cheating deduction rule. With the rules said the test began, everyone's attention was focused solely on their papers.

Temari sat in the back and could see her brothers clearly. They had figured out the cheating incentive quickly, Kankuro nodded at her silently telling her he understood. She smirked and nodded back. Their attention was brought to Gaara when they saw his sand silently move out of his gourd. His sand formed into the shape of a ball, she knew exactly what technique he was using. '_Very smart Gaara, opening the third eye.' _She looked over to her other brother,_ 'Kankuro too." _She had noticed that his bundle was missing from his back. She saw the faint chakura strings from his fingertips, they were nearly invisible to anyone who didn't know what to look for. She followed the strings to a Chuunin shinobi seated in his row. Her smirk grew as she watched the puppet look about. _'Guess we're set for points at this rate.'_

* * *

Shikamaru looked over his paper and sighed. It was only 10 problems but he didn't really want to do them. '_Asuma will be mad if I don't do them though, especially when I know the answers'_ he sighed again and half heartily began writing the answers. He was done with his text in ten minutes time. He grew bored and began to watch the other shinobi carefully. His attention was drawn to a fellow Konoha shinobi when a Chuunin guard threw a kunai at him, striking his paper with a thud as it dug into the desk. The boy stood up shaking as he stared at the now smirking Chuunin.

"You've been caught cheating five times, you fail. His teammates need to leave too." The Chuunin said with a grin. The boy protested but reluctantly left with his angry teammates. _'Jeez how troublesome'_ thought the lazy nin as he watched them exit through the door. He kept an eye on his teammates, waiting to see how they do. He then noticed Ino a few rows in front of him slump down on her desk suddenly. He looked at Choji and nodded in response to his teammates look. They both new Ino's ability to enter the mind of her target, he smirked when he saw that Sakura was sitting a row in front of Ino. '_Good choice Ino._' He thought approvingly.

More teams were kicked out as the time went along. He turned when he heard a voice ask to go to the bathroom. His eyes narrowed skeptically when he saw that it was one of Temari's teammates who was being led out by a Chuunin. It wasn't long before the examiner Ikibi announced the final question, before he could begin the sand ninja returned, Shikamaru saw the examiner smirk at him as he walked in.

"You're back, guess your puppet show didn't have to go to waste" said the examiner mockingly to the sand shinobi. Shikamaru saw the boy scowl in response. "Oh well just sit down." Ikibi said waving him off. The boy complied and walked back to his row. He passed Temari on his way and Shikamaru saw something drop onto her desk as her teammate passed by. He smirked wondering what the sand ninjas were up to. His attention was brought back to Ikibi as he began to explain the final question.

"First off you must choose whether or not to take the tenth question" said the examiner turning to the remaining shinobi in the room.

"Choose? Then what happens if we don't take it?" came a questioning outburst from behind. Everyone turned to look at the Sand kunoichi who had an annoyed look on her face. Shikamaru smiled as he watched her frown at the examiner. '_Guess she's getting impatient'_ he smirked when she caught his eye.

"If you choose not to take it you fail with zero points and your teammates fail with you" replied the examiner. There were angry murmurs and a few outbursts that followed from the Genin in the room in response. The examiner went on to explain that if you take the tenth question and fail, you could not take the exam ever again. Shikamaru saw Kiba stand up and yell about how unfair that was. He sighed as people tried to reason with the examiner, who laughed in response. '_Obviously there was going to be a catch'_ he thought as he looked to his teammates. They turned to him feeling his stare and nodded in response to his unspoken question. He smiled at them, he knew that they wouldn't quit, even if it was too troublesome for his liking. But as he thought about it he knew he wouldn't quit either.

Hands started to fly up after that and teams started leaving the room. He glanced at Temari who was sharing a look with her brother. He saw her smile at the hooded boy who turned around with a smirk. '_Guess they're not quitting too'_, he smiled as he turned back to the examiner waiting for the question.

There was a shocked silence when a hand that had been raised not only a second ago slammed down on the desk. _'Oh jeez'_ thought Shikamaru when he saw Naruto stand up and yell at Ikibi. The blonde shinobi ranted about how he wasn't going to quit or take back his words then sat down with a determined grin on his face. Shikamaru smiled as he saw the look of determination find its way to everyone's face in the room. Even the Chuunin examiners were looking at the loud blonde approvingly. Ikibi smirked, "well if that's all… now everyone in this room… passes."

Even Shikamaru was shocked, he hadn't seen that coming. There were a few gasps followed by a few relieved sighs from a few Genins in the room. Everyone looked at each other shocked until a voice rang out.

"So what where those previous nine problems? It was all a waste?!" Temari said angrily at the now grinning examiner. Shikamaru had to stop himself from laughing at the overly annoyed look on her face. He could tell she wanted to hit something right about now. Ikibi smiled and explained that the purpose was to see who could gather information without being detected. "The last part was to see who had determination and could be relied on to carryout missions with uncertainty" Ikibi told the Genin with a smile.

By now a few people were smiling as the realization that they passed the first part came over them. The victory was short lived as a crash rang out through the room. Everyone's head snapped to the now shattered window as the bundle that hurled through it flew open revealing a banner. A woman landed neatly on her feet as she faced the shinobi in the room with a grin. She announced herself as the second examiner and punched a fist excitedly in the air. _'Jeez she's worse than Naruto…'_ thought Shikamaru as silence followed the outburst of the woman. Ikibi smirked and told the dark haired kunoichi to read the situation, which she frowned at. She then began to tease the burly man about how many Genins were still left for her part of the exams. Ikibi just smiled as said "there are a lot of good ones this year." The woman, Anko, then addressed the remaining shinobi.

"Alright the next part of the exam starts tomorrow. Go talk to your Jounin's to find out the location. Dismissed!" she nodded happily after her short speech and turned to leave. Shikamaru sighed, he was glad this troublesome thing was done with. '_Well for today at least'_ he thought tiredly. He walked over to his group who were talking about making Asuma take them out for barbecue in celebration. He looked around the room and noticed the Sand shinobi already left. He frowned as he realized this, unhappy that he didn't get a chance to talk to Temari at all. He didn't add to the conversation his teammates were having and let them chat happily as they all walked out of the room in search of their sensei to tell him the good news.

* * *

_x

Authors notes: Thank you so much everyone for the feedback! I'll keep typing away for you guys 3 i try to put out a new chapter about every two days so keep checking for an update!

In response to animedude16: I'm going to portray her as older than him a bit but to me the ages don't really matter. I think because of the lifestyle of a ninja they have to mature quickly anyways. But this has given me something to think about now, so I might have that come up later :) haha thanks!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. That said, enjoy and please give me feed back!

**Chapter 4**

All of the Genin teams gathered in front of the examiner Anko. The location where they were told to meet at was a strange place. Near the village of Konoha there was a fenced off forest in the middle of a grassy meadow. From what Shikamaru could see it looked dangerous. His thoughts were confirmed when Anko announced the location was called The Forest of Death. He sighed thinking of just how troublesome this exam was really getting to be. The examiner went on to explain more things and handed out a consent form to all the teams. When questioned why she handed out the forms, by Naruto of course, she responded with "because from here on out people may die." There was a tense silence that followed the statement. Shikamaru frowned '_time to get serous huh?' _he thought as he followed his team to fill out the forms and turn them in to the Chuunin examiners.

He saw the sand team standing nearby waiting to turn in their forms. He tried to make eye contact with Temari but she didn't look at him. He frowned and tried to not act as disappointed as he felt. He turned away giving up. '_Now is not the time to get distracted anyways'_ he told himself as his team walked back to the examiner and waited for the start of the exam.

Anko went on to explain how this part of the exam was a survival test. "Your teams will be in the forest for five days, and your mission is to collect either the heaven or the earth scroll from another team while protection your own scroll. So basically get the opposite scrolls together and don't die" She gave every team a wicked smile after concluding her extremely brief explanation of the test. Shikamaru looked at his team's scroll which read heaven. He raised his hand slightly and the examiner looked at him, "can we quit during the test?" he asked. She laughed in response then said "no one can quit this time." Ino hit him on the arm lightly for asking such a question. He shrugged at her, "better to know right?" Choji took his side and nodded, he smirked as Ino sighed defeated. Anko then had Chuunin examiners come over and lead every team to a different opening gate all around the perimeter of the forest. Shikamaru looked lazily at the forest from in front of the fence and noticed a sign on the fence next to the entrance they were standing at that read '**Caution. You may die**.' Ino and Choji read it too and looked at Shikamaru with worry in their eyes. "Don't worry" he said to them giving them a slight smile, "we'll complete this easily." His teammates smiled at him and nodded confidently. "Now before we start let's look at the terrain map." They opened the scroll that they had been given with a map in it. It showed the forest was round with a river running through the middle that split off into two at the end. In the center of the area there was a large tower. "Remember our goal is to get to the tower with both scrolls and all our teammates alive." His friends nodded in response, he could see they were scared but eager to start the second test. Soon after, the Chuunin at their gate signaled it was time to start and they got in position. When the gate opened they sprinted into the forest.

* * *

Temari watched the lazy shinobi out of the corner of her eye. She could see he was looking at her and she refused to look back. '_I can't do this anymore… it puts him in danger'_ she clenched her fist angrily at the thought. She saw him frown at her then turn away giving up on trying to catch her eyes. She sighed both unhappy and relieved at this motion. She saw her youngest brother give her a look and she quickly turned away praying she hadn't aggravated him. Her attention was called to the examiner when she began explaining the rest of the second part of the test. After hearing all the details the sand ninjas followed the Konoha Chuunin to their starting gate. Kankuro shifted his feet impatiently making Temari laugh. '_Kankuro, impatient as always. He's been looking forward to a fight.' _She tensed when their Chuunin gave them the signal for the start of the test. "Alright!" Kankuro exclaimed excitedly as the gate opened and they took off into the forest.

Their formation has always been Temari in front with Gaara behind her and Kankuro at the end. Temari could easily counter attacks with her fan from any enemy who attacked in front. Kankuro was perfect for the last man because his puppets could grab anyone who tried to sneak up from the sides or behind. They had Gaara in the middle to protect him, but Gaara never needed protecting from them before so it was really a pointless act. Kankuro brought that point up once but was quickly silenced by the glare Temari had shot him when he said it. "I'm not going to put Gaara in anymore danger then he has to be." She had said fiercely to her then shocked brother. Temari smiled as she thought of the memory. After she had snapped at Kankuro she had looked at Gaara apologetically, thinking that he would have been mad that she was treating him like he was week. It was just the opposite, she could still remember the shock she felt when on her youngest brothers face was a small smile. It had only lasted for a second before his normal impassive face came back, but his eyes had held a softer look then they normal did when looking at her. It was momentous for Temari having for the first time, felt like Gaara was more her little brother then a monster. Since that day she has kept that feeling.

She was so lost in her memories and thoughts that she didn't notice another team below them until the kunai flew past her cheek leaving a deep cut in its path. She cursed as she stopped and crouched on the next branch and pulled out her fan. She touched her cheek feeling a sting as blood slowly flowed out of the cut. She ignored the small pain and opened her fan as she faced her opponents. Before she could react she saw a huge stream of sand shoot down and slam into the three Genins with the hidden village of cloud symbol on their forehead protectors. Temari tried to ignore the relief she felt at seeing their village symbols were not that of Konoha's. They screamed as the sand wrapped around them. Temari looked over at her brothers who were standing on the large branch nest to hers. Kankuro had a smirk on his face as he watched Gaara control the sand flowing out of his gourd. Gaara's face had its same impassive look to it as his hand went up and made a fist. "Desert coffin" she whispered as she looked back to the opponents who were now large piles of sand. There was a sickening crunch as the sand crushed the bodies it had trapped. She had watched Gaara kill so many times with his technique that she no longer felt anything when watching it happen. '_A shinobi isn't suppose to feel remorse right?'_ she thought as she looked at Gaara's impassive face. After a moment Gaara motioned the sand back into the gourd, it flowed back slowly as it was now slightly wet and heavy with blood. She watched him replace the cork and then both boys jumped over to her branch. She stood up and smiled an apologetic smile at them, "sorry I didn't see them…" her voice was cut off by a gasp that escaped from her when Gaara's had reached out and touched her cheek gently wiping some blood that was still there off. She met her youngest brother's eyes and softened her expression when she saw that his eyes held slight concern in them. '_He… cares about me?' _She smiled as she pulled out a bandage from her pack and stuck in over the cut on her cheek. "I'll go check the bodies" Kankuro said and leapt down to the ground in front of the mangled corpses. Her gaze returned to Gaara who was still looking concerned.

"I'm fine now Gaara, thank you." She said to him gently and got a nod in response. Soon after Kankuro returned with a few bloody kunai and an earth scroll. "Damn, they had the same scroll as us." Temari said as she noticed what Kankuro held. The black jacketed boy smiled wickedly at her, "that just means we'll get to fight another team then." She smirked at the excitement in his voice. "How about letting me have the next group Gaara?" the boy said joking at the unsmiling red head. Gaara only turned and jumped to the next tree without even looking to see it they were following him. She sighed and nodded to Kankuro who was looking nervous at Gaara's response. With that they took off after their brother into the forest.

* * *

Shikamaru relaxed after he watched the sand ninja's disappear through the trees. They had heard the screams and came to see the fight hoping to get a chance to steal a scroll. They had hidden close by in a bush right when the fight had started. He looked over at his teammates who both wore shocked expressions. He had seen Ino start to shake in fear when they first heard the screams of the Genin from the cloud village. He noticed her still shaking and put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. She jumped slightly at the touch and yipped in fear. She relaxed when she noticed it was him and not an enemy. "It's ok Ino" he whispered to her, she nodded in response. He got up slowly looking around as he did, making sure no other teams came over after hearing the fight. _'It had been over so quickly maybe no one other than us heard it'_ he shifted his focus back to his teammates who were still looking scared. '_Better to not find out'_ he thought as he motioned for them to reform their positions. They got up from behind the bush and hurried away from the scene. He tried unsuccessfully to not look at the bodies the sand ninjas had left behind. It was a gruesome sight, there were bones that were sticking out of torn skin and still bleeding limbs lay in unnatural positions around the mangled bodies. He fought back the urge to throw up as he tore his eyes from the bloody ground.

He heard Ino gasp behind him and knew that she had looked at the post fight scene too. He closed his eyes as he tried to calm himself down. He felt an overwhelming feeling of grief and disgust after having witnessed the massacre. '_They hadn't even stood a chance...' _he cursed silently to himself as he remembered the look on all their faces. He didn't know what was worse the happy smirk the face painted guy had on or the expressionless mask the redhead had wore the entire time_. 'Even Temari had looked uncaringly at them…'_ anger swelled up inside him at the thought. All he wanted to do now was shake her and demand she care about the lives her brother took. His fist clenched angrily at his side and he as he and his teammates got farther and farther away from the horrid sight. He had made it a point to go in the opposite direction the sand shinobi's had gone. '_There is no way I'm ever going to let my teammates face them.'_ A resolve came over him as he made that thought into a promise, he silently looked back at his team who was looking more sad now then afraid. Choji looked up as they hopped off another branch and met Shikamaru's eyes. His best friend knew him well enough to guess what he was thinking. He saw Choji nod in acknowledgement of his silent promises. Shikamaru smiled a small smile at his friend and turned back to focus on where they were going. "Let's stop soon and make camp for the night… I'll take first guard when we set up" he said to his team who replied positively, they then made their way to a small clearing. Night had fallen quickly as they set up a small make shift camp. In their packs they had a survival scrolls all ninjas carried on missions. With these scrolls they could summon many things from something as large as a tent to something as small as a matchbox. They all took out their scrolls and summoned themselves each a sleeping bag. Choji then worked on gathering some food from around them as Ino made a small fire.

Shikamaru stood watch over their small little camp as the night really began to set it. It was very dark in the forest they had entered. He looked around intently when he heard a bush rustle, thankfully only a snake slithered out. He walked over and picked up the snake careful not to get bit. It hissed in protest at the motion. Shikamaru walked away from the camp and threw the snake away from their small clearing. He heard a twig snap heavily to his left and pulled out his kunai turning to face whoever made the noise. Out of the shadows a figure appeared smiling and began walking over to him, his breath caught as he recognized the figure that was no more than a foot away now. "Temari?" he said confused and relaxed his position. The girl grinned at him as she got closer still. He looked at her questioningly as she silently stood just inches in front of him. "Um...Temari..." he said again blushing at her closeness when he felt her hand grab his arms roughly. He looked at her shocked as he tried to get out of her grasp. The blond kunoichi laughed as she began to change into that of a tall male shinobi. The boy towered over him laughing. Shikamaru cursed and studied his captor, the boy had spiky blue hair and a few piercings in his left ear. He had slim black eyes that held menace in them and a large smirk upon his face. As he looked down he saw the boy had on a light blue jacket lined with red on the outside that went down to his hips which then led to black pants and black combat boots. Shikamaru glared as he saw the hidden village of rain's symbol on the forehead protector that was tied to the boys arm. The ninja laughed as Shikamaru struggled in his grip. '_Shit, I can't move my arms. I can't use any jutsu's!' _he thought angrily as he tried to free his arms from his captors grasp.

"How did you like my genjutsu boy?" the rain ninja teased him as his grip tightened on Shikamaru's arms. Shikamaru glared at the boy and refused to answer. "It shows a person's true weakness" the boy sneered at him.

'_Calm down, think. Choji and Ino will notice you're missing and come looking. Wait where is his team?!' _Shikamaru looked around the now dark forest for any sign of movement. His captor laughed noticing his movements "don't worry they're already after your team" he told Shikamaru with a smirk. With that Shikamaru heard a scream from behind him. "Ino!" he yelled fighting the arms that held him again. He could hear the sounds of a fight start up close by. "Dammit!" Shikamaru gritted his teeth in lifted his leg in an attempt to kick the rain shinobi away from him, but his captor knew what he was doing. The boy dodged and laughed as he released an arm to punch Shikamaru in the face. Shikamaru's head snapped back and pain suddenly came over him. With the rain shinobi's other hand, the boy threw Shikamaru onto his back and stomped on his stomach forcing all his air out. Shikamaru gasped for breath as the boy started kicking him and did it over and over until Shikamaru coughed up blood. Shikamaru raised his head trying to see the next attack, he saw the boy pullout a kunai, "sorry mate, this is it for you" the boy said as he lunged forward at Shikamaru. The boy suddenly stopped just inches away from Shikamaru, he eyes widened in surprise as his position mirrored that of his opponent.

"How?" the blue haired boy said shocked and angry.

"Shadow imitation technique" said Shikamaru as he smirked at the boys shocked expression. He then made the boy draw his arm away from him.

"I knew you'd release me if I moved to hit you. And as you hit me I stored up chakura and waited for an opening." He stepped back from him making the boy mimic the action too and brought the rain shinobi's kunai over to his own hand. The boy yelled as he unwillingly stabbed himself, his hand now dripping blood. He released the jutsu and ran over to the boy who had fallen to his knees cursing as he cradled his bloody hand. Shikamaru struck the boy in the head with a kick and watched him slump down unconscious. He then turned and ran to the campsite in search of his teammates. '_Please be ok!' _he thought desperately as he ran into the clearing. He heard a clash of metal as Choji stopped another ninja 's kunai with his own. Looking around he saw the other enemy ninja circling behind his friend. He immediately crouched down and released is shadow bind technique and stretched in toward the two unsuspecting ninjas. He caught them just as the back one tensed to lunge, "Choji! Now" he yelled at his friend. "Yosh!" replied his friend as he activated his own technique, human bolder, and ran over the two captive rain ninjas that fell down unconscious. Shikamaru released his technique and ran over to his friend "you alright?" he said as he panted out of exhaustion, he had used up a lot of chakura already. "Yea" his friend replied weakly. Shikamaru smiled at his friend happy that he was alright, his mood quickly shifted when he realized someone was missing. He looked around franticly "where's Ino?" he said as he continued to search the dark ground for his blonde teammate. Shikamaru head snapped in to the left when he heard a noise. He saw a faint cloud of white smoke where the body of one of the rain ninja had been_. 'A shadow clone?'_ he frowned as he looked around for the real ninja. His eyes detected a movement in the trees beside him as a kunai shot past him and hit a tree. His eyes widened when he saw an explosive tag on the kunai, he turned and yelled for Choji to run. The boys sprinted away from the now lit tag and flew into the forest once more. They had run the way the kunai had come from and were looking for the shinobi who threw it. Not far from the clearing they found a piece of paper stuck to a tree by a kunai. Shikamaru read the message that was scribbled hastily on the paper, '**bring your scroll to the river 50 km south of here by noon or your teammate dies'** he cursed after he read it and handed the note to his teammate. Choji read it too and punched the tree trunk out of anger, earning a few bloody knuckles.

"Shikamaru…" Choji started but was cut off when Shikamaru held a hand up.

"I know Choji… I know… I'll think of something." He said closing his eyes he was trying to think when fatigue hit him. He stumbled slightly and felt his friend put an arm around him steadying him.

"Come on" his friend said helping him stand "let's find a place to rest…we're no use to her if we can't even walk" he said half jokingly. Shikamaru smiled at his best friend "your right." They traveled a mile away and concealed themselves in the branches of tree. They had set up traps around the tree in case the rain ninja returned. He felt his friend relax beside him as sleep overcame him, he closed his eyes as sleep took him as well.

_x

Authors notes: This was my favorite chapter to write so far and in writing it i got a lot of good ideas for things i want to come up in later chapters. hope you guys enjoyed it! and once again thank you guys so much for the feed back from the last chapter, i really appreciate it! 3


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